Ice hockey is notorious for fights, scuffles, slams, and falls; however, more commonly are both acute and overuse injuries of the lower body including groin strains, hip pain, and contusions.
Physical therapy is the best way to prepare your body for intense sports as well as treat any injuries so they heal the right way. The International Journal of Sports Physical Therapy found that with a proper understanding of hockey injuries and the right treatment plan, physical therapy is effective at rehabilitating athletes after an injury.
Seeing one of our Doctors of Physical Therapy for regular sports therapy will help you get back on the ice sooner.
Related Content: 10 Benefits of Sports Physical Therapy
Physical Therapy for Hockey Players
No matter if you’re part of a team or a casual player, there are three core ways that physical therapy helps hockey players.
1. Preventing Injuries (As Much As Possible) Through Physical Therapy
Obviously, you can’t always anticipate and stop an injury before it happens. However, with regular physical therapy you can prep your body so it’s in the best condition, as well as know what to do immediately following an injury to avoid further damage.
This preventative strategy also improves your sport performance, through several key areas:
- Functional, Hockey Specific Mobility
- Strength of supporting muscles that often lead to pain in hockey athletes
- Endurance: High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) with specific hockey based training and performance
Related Content: Can Physical Therapy Really Improve Sports Performance?
2. Treat Current Injuries with Physical Therapy
Following an injury, your tissues need to heal – correctly. When not handled properly, negative side effects such as reduction in your range of motion, flexibility and/or your overall performance can happen.
Which is why working with an expert sports physical therapist is so important. An expert – like one of PRO Therapy’s Doctors of Physical Therapy – understands the unique toll that hockey takes on the body. Your treatment will be individualized to the specific tissues involved in relation to your hockey goals as well as creating a treatment plan to quickly and effectively get you on the ice again. We work with you to make sure this plan is coordinated in the most correct and safest manner possible.
Physical therapy treatment plans can consist of many of the following: dry needling, joint mobilization and manipulation, soft tissue treatment, strengthening and mobility exercises that create a balance of recovery/healing and improved pain or function. Many people believe physical therapy is just there to “get you out of pain”. However, within your care plan, we want you to truly be back to the player you were prior to injury including taking treatment beyond just “pain relief”.
Related Content: What Sports Injuries Do We Treat?
3. Post-Practice or Game Physical Therapy
The final way physical therapy helps hockey players is post-practice or post-game physical therapy. This can either be done as a session at our facility, or it can be as simple as following stretches instructed by your physical therapist at your location. Either way, this is critical for preventing aches. Your physical therapist will create a post-exercise plan you can easily follow.
Treatment including post-performance dry needling, myofascial decompression (cupping), and guided mobility work are great assets to utilize after competition that leaves you sore. These can help decrease post-competition soreness and get you back to games/practice earlier!
Physical therapy is a highly effective way of helping hockey players at all levels keep their bodies in top shape. The key to making it work is partnering with a physical therapist who knows hockey – like PRO Therapy.
Sports Physical Therapy With PRO Therapy
Our number one goal is to keep you as healthy and active as possible.
A physical therapist at PRO Therapy can identify and help resolve any missteps in your form and movement before an injury occurs, keeping you in peak condition. An injury can mean months of rehabilitation before you’re able to get back to doing the things you love. Partnering with one of our Doctors of Physical Therapy is going to help you stay on top of your performance goals and avoid those dreaded injuries. If you do find yourself on the side of injury, come see us to create a personalized plan for you to get you back to the ice as soon as possible.
Unsure what sports physical therapy is or if it’s the right option for you? Want to know more on how it can be utilized and provide value to your activities? Have you tried it elsewhere with a bad experience? If any of these questions resonate with you, we offer a free discovery visit so you can come in, see our facility, meet with one of our Doctors of Physical Therapy and get all your questions answered!
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